--- title: "Small Axe" year: 2020 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/small-axe" fi1m_score: 88 critics_score: 84 critics_reviews: 15 published: "2026-09-17T03:30:11.748133+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T03:30:41.511917+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Small Axe (2020) Created by Steve McQueen · MPA TV-MA · Drama **Fi1m score: 88** · Critics 84 from 15 reviews *In a sentence:* Five films about a country that will not listen, and one where nobody needs to talk > Steve McQueen’s five films about West Indian London are not all of the same quality, and we would not pretend otherwise. But *Mangrove* and *Lovers Rock* are as good as anything he has made, and the other three earn their place beside them. ## Synopsis London, the late 1960s. Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes) opens the Mangrove, a Caribbean restaurant, and the local police, led by PC Pulley (Sam Spruell), raid it again and again on charges that never stick. Activist Altheia Jones (Letitia Wright) and the writer Darcus Howe (Malachi Kirby) persuade Frank that the only answer is a march on the police station. The march ends in arrests, and nine of them face trial. That is the first of five films. The others move to a house party in 1980, a young man who joins the police, a Brixton teenager who will become a novelist, and a boy sent to a school for the backward. ## Review The title comes from an old proverb by way of Bob Marley: if you are the big tree, we are the small axe. Steve McQueen’s five films, released weekly from 15 November 2020, take that as an instruction rather than a boast. Each is about West Indian Londoners, each is set in the two decades after 1968, and each is about somebody small taking a swing at something large: a police station, a school, a courtroom, a Saturday night. They vary in length, in tone and in quality, and the best two are among the finest things McQueen has done. *Mangrove* comes first and it made us angry, which we suspect was the idea. Shaun Parkes plays Frank Crichlow, who wants to run a restaurant and be left alone, and Sam Spruell’s PC Pulley will not leave him alone. The raids arrive without music and without warning. Shabier Kirchner shoots the Mangrove in flat winter daylight, and after one raid he holds on a colander knocked to the floor, turning slowly, for far longer than a colander deserves. It is the shot of the series. When the story moves to the trial, Letitia Wright’s Altheia Jones and Malachi Kirby’s Darcus Howe take over, defending themselves, and Jack Lowden’s Ian MacDonald, the barrister who takes the rest, gets the film’s dry lines. Parkes is the best thing in it: a man who did not ask to be a symbol and hates every minute of being one. *Lovers Rock* is one night at a house party in 1980, and almost nothing happens except the party. Helen Scott’s production design gives us a terraced house with the furniture pushed back, a sound system in the front room and the kitchen full of food, and Kirchner’s camera moves through it at shoulder height, close enough to see sweat. Sinéad Kidao, Jacqueline Durran and Lisa Duncan dress the women in satin and the men in wide collars, and for once the clothes look like clothes people chose rather than costume. Then the record of Janet Kay’s *Silly Games* finishes and the dancers keep singing it, unaccompanied, for minutes. It moved us more than we thought a dance floor could. We were not at that party and we have never been to one like it, and for the length of that song we felt we had. The other three are smaller. The third, about a young black man who joins the Metropolitan Police, is the most conventional and the most watchable at speed. *Alex Wheatle*, the fourth, follows the future novelist from a brutal children’s home to Brixton and prison, and it is warm and funny and over before it has decided what it is about. *Education*, the last, is a plain, tight account of a boy shunted into a school for the backward because a teacher could not be bothered, drawn from McQueen’s own childhood, and it ends on the only note of straightforward hope in the whole run. The unevenness is real. *Mangrove* stiffens once it reaches the courtroom, and a story that had spent an hour avoiding the courtroom-drama template settles into it. *Alex Wheatle* feels like the first act of a longer film. McQueen, cutting with Chris Dickens, sometimes holds a shot a beat past the point where it has said its piece. Mica Levi’s music is sparse and stays out of the way, which we think is right, though there are stretches where a little more of it would have carried us. McQueen’s cinema films, [*Hunger*](https://film.one/film/hunger), [*Shame*](https://film.one/film/shame) and [*12 Years a Slave*](https://film.one/film/12-years-a-slave), are severe things, beautifully lit and hard to love. *Small Axe* is looser and warmer than any of them, and television seems to have done that to him. He is still the director who will hold on a face until you look away first. Here he is also, for the first time, a director who lets people enjoy themselves. Watch *Mangrove* and *Lovers Rock* on the same night, in that order. The first tells you what these people were up against. The second shows you what they built anyway, and it does it without a speech. *Fi1m score 88, published 17 September 2026.* ## What the critics say All fifteen reviews are positive, and most treat Steve McQueen’s five-part anthology as the overdue dramatisation of British-Caribbean history it sets out to be. The praise splits along the two films most critics chose to write about. Mangrove is admired as a courtroom drama that builds patiently to its trial, with Letitia Wright, Malachi Kirby and Shaun Parkes singled out. Lovers Rock draws the warmest notices: the long takes on the dance floor, the lighting and the unaccompanied singing of Silly Games are mentioned again and again, and several critics call it the standout of the series. The spread is narrow and nobody is hostile. Such reservations as exist cluster around plot. The Times finds Lovers Rock light on story and dialogue while enjoying it, a point The Independent also makes without minding, and The i Paper thinks Alex Wheatle offers only a glimpse of its subject. The later instalments attract fewer and cooler notices than the first two. ### Reviews we read (15) - **IndieWire**, Eric Kohn (90/100, inferred): The review hails Lovers Rock as a galvanizing party movie with one of the best dance parties ever filmed, delivering a sensual, loose, and joyful portrait of Black Londoners at a 1980 house party. It singles out the vibrant dance floor sequences, music, and atmosphere for praise as the standout element of the Small Axe series. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/lovers-rock-review-steve-mcqueen-small-axe-1234587070/) - **The AV Club**, Shannon Miller (A-): The review praises Mangrove as an essential, galvanizing start to the Small Axe anthology, handling its story of the Mangrove Nine with complexity and specificity while avoiding inspiration porn. It singles out the strong performances, particularly Letitia Wright and Malachi Kirby, and McQueen's careful mapping of the road to the courtroom climax for praise. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/steve-mcqueen-s-small-axe-anthology-begins-with-the-ess-1845557566) - **The Guardian** (90/100, inferred): The critic praises Steve McQueen's five-part anthology for finally dramatizing overlooked histories of Britain's Caribbean community with luminous performances and nuanced representation. They single out the Mangrove episode's tense courtroom drama and the series' celebration of British-Caribbean culture and music. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/nov/15/small-axe-review-steve-mcqueen-triumphs-with-tales-of-britains-caribbean-history) - **Variety**, Peter Debruge (Critic's Pick): The critic commends the film as a powerful response to institutional racism, noting its focus on Black activists' resistance and victory in a landmark trial while providing historical context for the anthology series. [Read](https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/mangrove-review-steve-mcqueen-small-axe-1234784156/) - **Vulture**, Alison Willmore (90/100, inferred): The review calls Small Axe (especially Lovers Rock) a revelation and one of the year's best films, celebrating its transfixing evocation of Black joy, community, and the human body in motion at a house party. It singles out the stunning party sequences, lighting, and a cappella singing of 'Silly Games' for particular praise while contrasting it with the more historical Mangrove. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/small-axe-movie-review-lovers-rock-is-one-of-2020s-best.html) - **The Independent** (85/100, inferred): The second film in McQueen’s Small Axe sequence is almost plotless but its world is so convincingly realised through rich detail and texture that viewers feel they were present at the 1980 house party. Songs drive the film in long roaming takes, highlighting the party as a haven and the redemptive power of music and community. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/lovers-rock-review-small-axe-steve-mcqueen-b1759906.html) - **Empire**, Jimi Famurewa (80/100, inferred): The critic praises McQueen's unhurried yet propulsive storytelling in this courtroom drama and community portrait, highlighting strong performances especially from Shaun Parkes and the film's ability to balance buoyant community moments with visceral depictions of racism. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/mangrove/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (80/100, inferred): The critic calls it a blistering indictment of sanctioned racism, praising the gripping account of the Mangrove Nine trial and its timely relevance to police discrimination. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/mangrove-film-review-nyff-review-4066936/) - **The Telegraph** (4/5): McQueen concludes his five-part anthology with a focused, economical story of a dyslexic West Indian boy struggling in the school system, drawn from the director's own childhood. The film captures period detail vividly and ends on a note of uplift and hope. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2020/12/13/small-axe-education-review-steve-mcqueen-ends-tremendous-anthology/) - **The i Paper** (75/100, inferred): The final instalment of McQueen’s Small Axe anthology is a warm, intimate portrayal of novelist Alex Wheatle’s early life, from a brutal children’s home to finding his identity in Brixton amid riots and imprisonment. It is rich and compelling with a thread of humour, though it feels like only a glimpse at the subject’s life. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/small-axe-alex-wheatle-bbc-one-review-steve-mcqueen-film-warm-intimate-784139) - **The Times**, Carol Midgley (★★★★☆): Lovers Rock, the second instalment of the Small Axe anthology, creates an immersive, sensual experience of an 1980s West Indian house party with long takes of dancing and an impeccable soundtrack. It lacks much plot or dialogue but succeeds as an intoxicating study of human behaviour and culture. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/small-axe-lovers-rock-review-an-evocative-and-intoxicating-eighties-romance-vt6m2pgvc) - **NME**, Amon Warmann (5/5): The critic calls Mangrove a brilliantly directed and superbly performed courtroom drama that powerfully resonates with today's climate of racial injustice. They praise McQueen's ability to bring little-known historical stories to vivid, relevant life. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/mangrove-review-steve-mcqueen-2776563) - **Paste**, Andy Crump (9.0/10): The critic hails Lovers Rock as an exhilarating triumph and a textured, warm portrait of Black experience and joy in a 1980s house party setting. They single out the silky camerawork and the film's multifaceted depiction of community, romance, and implied structural threats for praise. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/amazon-prime/small-axe-lovers-rock-review) - **/Film**, Hoai-Tran Bui (8/10): The review describes Lovers Rock as an exuberant, swooning mood piece that seduces with waves of joy, sensuality, and fervor during a single-night reggae house party. It singles out the rich tapestry of characters and the film's cinematic tone and atmosphere for praise. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/576641/lovers-rock-review/) - **The Ringer**, Alison Herman (80/100, inferred): The critic finds Small Axe an absorbing portrait of the West Indian British experience that collapses the personal and the political. She singles out its visual beauty and the way apolitical interludes like Lovers Rock add nuance and stakes to the larger historical stories. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2020/11/23/tv/small-axe-steve-mcqueen-bbc-limited-series) ## Details - **Created by:** Steve McQueen - **Creator:** Steve McQueen - **Director:** Steve McQueen - **Screenplay:** Steve McQueen, Courttia Newland, Alastair Siddons - **Writer:** Steve McQueen, Courttia Newland, Alastair Siddons - **Story:** Steve McQueen - **Cinematography:** Shabier Kirchner - **Editor:** Chris Dickens, Steve McQueen - **Music:** Mica Levi - **Production design:** Helen Scott - **Costume design:** Lisa Duncan, Sinéad Kidao, Jacqueline Durran - **Producer:** Anita Overland, Michael Elliott - **Cast:** Letitia Wright as Altheia Jones; Shaun Parkes as Frank Crichlow; Malachi Kirby as Darcus Howe; Rochenda Sandall as Barbara Beese; Jack Lowden as Ian MacDonald; Sam Spruell as PC Pulley; Gershwyn Eustache Jnr as Eddie LeCointe Jnr; Nathaniel Martello-White as Rhodan Gordan - **Certificate (MPA):** TV-MA - **Release (the US):** 15 November 2020 - **Genres:** Drama - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjFAEy-0BLk ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: streaming - Apple TV: buy, hd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AT, AU, CA, DE, FR, GB, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - European Film Award for Innovative Storytelling 2021: European Film Award for Innovative Storytelling (won) ## If you liked this - *Pressure* (1976): Horace Ové’s Ladbroke Grove drama, the film the Mangrove generation made about itself. - *Babylon* (1980): A south London sound system, the police outside, and Brinsley Forde carrying every scene. - *Do the Right Thing* (1989), Fi1m 93: One hot Brooklyn day, a block of neighbours, and a pizzeria nobody can leave alone. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/do-the-right-thing.md) - *La Haine* (1995), Fi1m 90: Three friends, one gun and twenty-four hours in the Paris banlieue after a riot. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/la-haine.md) - *Hunger* (2008), Fi1m 86: McQueen’s first feature, colder and harder, and the origin of his held shots. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/hunger.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/small-axe